Life magazine cover found with Google Images.
R E M E MB R A N C E — I just heard on my local TV station that today is the 45th anniversary of the "Great Blackout" of 1965. The first link I found states it was actually on November 9th. This second link also states it was the 9th. Of course, the UFOlogists have their own take on this subject, no matter what the date was. I'm guessing my local TV "know it all" got the date wrong. I should email the station, the guy is almost insufferable with his on-air trivia...
I was eight years old that early November evening at 5:28 pm taking a gymnastic lesson when the lights went out. I was on the trampoline and I only remember that because the darkness threw my balance off and I landed "wrong" on my ankle, severely spraining it. That was pretty much the end of my gymnastics career, lol. I wasn't very keen on starting back up once I healed.
P S —
Today is Veterans Day, November 11. Thank you to every person that has served to protect this country, and to those that remained at home keeping life going for when their loved ones came home. If they came home. We have to remember all those whose lives were cut short so that we may live today.
I remember this blackout very well, although in New Jersey we didn't lose power. But there was no television because all the NYC transmitters were down. We drove over to Englewood Cliffs to see New York looking dark. It was spooky.
ReplyDeletePaul, NYC
GOOD MORNING, BRISK COOL DAY. LOVE IT. I SAY KEEP IT COMING. THE OAK TREE THAT'S IN THE BACKYARD JUST ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE HOMEOWERS ASSOCIATION FENCE HAS DROPPED IT'S ACORNS AND WHAT A MESS. THE SQUIRRELS WILL BE WELL FED THIS WINTER.THE OAK TREE IN THE FRONT YARD HAS MADE A MESS, ALSO.I THINK ALL OAK TREE SHOULD ONLY GROW IN PASTURES TO SHADE HORSES AND SHOW OFF THEIR GRAND BEAUTY. THEIR BEAUTIFUL BUT KEEPS A PERSON WORKING CLEANING UP AFTER THEM. [LEAVES AND ACORNS]. OH WELL,IT GIVES GRAMPS SOMETHING TO DO.
ReplyDeleteCASEY KEEP BUSY WITH ALL YOU HAVE TO DO AND STAY IN YOUR CONFORT ZONE. I STAY IN MINE ALSO. I DON'T CARE FOR CROWDS AND LOUD NOISE. I ENJOY BEING ALONE. I DON'T MINE SMALL GROUPS.
IT WOULD BE A GOOD DAY TO GO FOR A RIDE IN MY MAZDA CONVERTIBLE.
REMEMBERING MY DAD,GRAMPS AND TWO OF MY BROTHERS FOR SERVING OUR COUNTRY.
WWI, WWII, KOREA.
GRANNY
Paul: I bet that darkened Manhattan skyline you saw, and as in this magazine, will never be repeated. I'm not sure but I'd be we have more safeguards in place now to prevent such a large blackout from occurring again.
ReplyDeleteYes, Granny, I'm remembering all in my family that fought in wars, too.
Wow, 45 years??? I was 12 at the time and vaguely remember it. Paul, that had to be SO COOL to have the city blacked out...and SCARY! Bet it was eerily quiet too!
ReplyDeleteGranny, please stop by if you would like a little snow and cold weather...I'll make us some chili. The snow is coming down beautifully right now. It will get old quickly though I'm afraid!
Have a great day.
mare
Mare: I can't believe it's snowing where you are right now! At least I slept through our little slush the other day, lol. I'm not ready yet to sit inside and watch frozen precipitation! We're having our first sunny day in 4-5 days today, and temps in the '50s with a really blue sky. Would be a great day for fall pix, but most of the leaves have dropped already from our wind storms of the past few days. We had gusts to 60mph!
ReplyDeleteWell, we had a blackout in 1977 and we had a pretty big blackout in 2003 that darkened everything east of the Mississippi if I recall correctly. I happened to be in San Francisco at the time and I was able to call home because we still had (and still have) a landline. The landlines always work even when nothing else does!
ReplyDeleteI really don't remember those other blackouts. probably says more about me than them, lol.
ReplyDeletei only have a landline, but it's through Comcast, so it goes out quite often! the worst part is when there is something wrong with my internet or TV, the phone goes out too so I can't call them to tell them.
The blackout we had a few years back was a bit scary
ReplyDeleteand we'll never be given the true reason of its failure.
I bet the hippies were happy that the electricity went out some 45 yrs ago...lol
I think hippies were still a couple of years in the future when the Blackout of 65 occurred. In my recollection, hippies first came on the scene in 1967 -- the "Summer of Love." I started college in the Fall of 1966 and everyone was dressed in very preppy clothes but by the end of the academic year there was a lot of bell bottoms, huge collars, etc. Maybe I was too isolated in my suburban high school but I'd never seen or heard of hippies in November of 1965. I think "the sixties" have become a buzz word for hippies and protests and all that kind of thing, but the first half of the 60s were very much like the 50s and things changed really fast later -- to me 1967 is really the beginning of what has come to be known as "the sixties."
ReplyDeleteI hope that doesn't come off as a rant! I didn't mean it that way at all.
Paul, NYC
The Monterey Film Festival in the Summer of Love... '67.
ReplyDeleteI didn't read your comment as a rant, but even if I did, that's fine with me. Rant on!
No rant Paul, interesting thoughts on it...
ReplyDeleteI was 15 in 1967 and the hippie culture had already started to take on momentum. I believe it evolved from the beats of the 50's and as the war in VietNam took on speed so did the movement.probably around 1965...that along with more drugs and "free" sex (which probably wasn't so free in the long run!! :) It really did come to light BIG TIME in 1967 but had at least a bit of a "build up" to that time...i think... lol!!
Interesting how we all remember the same events a tad differently depending on our age, location and perceptions...love it!
mare
oh Casey, the Monteray Festival brought some of the best music! Still listen to "recorded live at" today!
Have you ever seen this:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8azv6i8wlP8&feature=related
... or this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdF-CsxqDko&feature=related
Youtube is really something, isn't it? The TV video reminded me so much of the sixties, the signal interference, the black and white shows. We got our first color TV in '63 or '64, and I was shocked that every show wasn't in color. In fact, the TV Guide actually listed which shows were in color! My parents would pick which shows we watched by if they were in color or not. My Dad loved to watch color shows, lol.
ReplyDeleteFirst, a bonus Monterey reference:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLo8GJJLUhE
Another blackout: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfr_-lRBvMQ
ReplyDeleteAnd about breaking news in general: http://www.marketplacemagazine.com/blogs/blog2.php/2011/02/04/breaking-the-news
ReplyDeletethanks for the links. Your breaking news column is fascinating. I'll get back to it tonight, I'm on a deadline this afternoon, but I share your fascination with subjects like that.
ReplyDeleteGiven your Lennon interest, you might be interested in this too: http://www.marketplacemagazine.com/blogs/blog2.php/2010/12/08/it-was-30-years-ago-today-1
ReplyDelete